FSA Wealth Management LLC Purchases Shares of 378 Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 378 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $94,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 1,516 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,656,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 381 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $263.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $275.85 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $256.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $241.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.70%.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.